Umberto Diecinove

In residence at

Insect Biology Research Institute (IRBI), University of Tours / CNRS - FR

Host scientist

David Giron

BIOGRAPHY

Umberto Diecinove (born in 1978) is an Italian photographer who currently lives between Turin and Madrid. With an academic background in Literature and Philosophy, he works as a documentary photographer and filmmaker.

PROJECT

I N S C T S, in collaboration with the research project: Multidimensional assessment of the potential of insects for sustainable agri-food systems

In its 6th assessment report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses that climate change is having multiple impacts, particularly on biodiversity and food production. The increased risk of heatwaves, extreme rainfall and drought means that the agricultural and agri-food sectors are faced with a number of challenges: providing food in quantity and quality, limiting their environmental impact, reconciling quality and yield, making the farming profession more attractive, adapting to new consumer expectations and supporting sectors with a view to competitiveness and food sovereignty.
I N S C T S is an ongoing multimedia project that documents the responses that insects offer to series of environmental and societal challenges.
Insect farming is an effective tool for recycling organic waster and producing feed for animals like chickens, or many freshwater fishes, that already eat instects in their natural diet. But also fertilisers, and food – where part of human diets.
Umberto Diecinove takes photographs in research centres, farms, communities in  and companies in Europe, in Colombia, Thailand, Malaysia and in the U.S.A.
Umberto Diecinove will be working in collaboration with Karol B. Barragán-Fonseca to document her research work - for her project Multidimensional assessment of the potential of insects for sustainable agri-food systems - and encounters with different players, with the aim of producing a positive and attractive documentation of the societal change that has already begun.